Status Report on Critical Compilation of Physical Chemical Data

Abstract

The late Farrington Daniels dncc defined chemistry as study of interesting things. While this is perhaps a slight overstatement of the eclectic interests of chemists, it is fair to say that no other group of scientists has a stronger tradition of ignoring rigid disciplinary boundaries. Thus, the term physical chemical must be interpreted very broadly; it is difficult to think of measurable properties that are not of interest to some chemists. In this review we use the word to mean quantitative values' of well­ defined properties (in the context of accepted theories) of well­ characterized systems. Thus, we include all the customary and chemical properties of pure substances and mixtures of known composition. We exclude from consideration poorly characterized natural products (coal, petroleum), large natural systems (earth, solar system), and living organisms. Whatever the motivation of a particular experimental research effort in chemistry, one of the outputs is usually a set of numerical data. When the results of the research are published, the most immediate impact of the paper may derive from a new insight, test of a theory, or suggestion for further experiments. In the long term, however, the experimental data contained in the paper are likely to find uses that could not have been antici­ pated by the original research workers. Such data, if carefully measured and documented, form a reservoir of great value to the progress of science. The retrieval, organization, and screening of these data from the primary research literature has been recognized as an important task since the beginning' of modern science. The exponential growth of the literature during the last 25 years has accentuated a problem that was already apparent a century ago.